Collab Wish List - Bop x Fatima

Signed to Med School Records, the Saint Petersburg producer Bop creates a style of drum and bass which is quite unlike from anything else out there right now. Generally he stays well away from vocals, letting his music speak for itself and keeping his musically complicated, easy listening flavor of D n' B to instrumentals only.

However, when he has collaborated with vocalists, and I’m talking specifically about the beautiful track "Lucid Dreaming" featuring Elsa Esmeralda, the results have been incredible (big up Hospital Records for airing this one on their podcast). I’m currently listening to Bop’s 2009 album Clear Your Mind and I can imagine a Fatima vocal over the top of some of these beats would contribute another dimension to the music. It would also be an interesting place for soul and drum & bass to cross paths, with both artists on the fringe of their respective genres.

I first heard of Fatima through a friend of mine who pointed me in the direction of a live recording of her collaboration with Benji B’s Deviation show on Radio One Xtra. The live vocal was of her signature track with Floating Points, "Mind." Fatima is, in my opinion, one of the most talented soul vocalists out there at the moment, with a style that points back to a golden age of front women. Floating Points, her label-mates at Eglo Records, provide her with the perfect slow, fuzzy bass beats that remind me of 1997’s Baduizm, a fantastic album and the pinnacle of Erykah Badu’s career.

Living and performing regularly in East London, Fatima has gained a strong following in the UK and is set to appear at festivals in Montenegro, Belgium, and Poland this year, ending in a not-to-be-missed Doctor’s Orders one-off event in London where she will be supporting hip-hop royalty DJ Premier.

So, what am I after in a collaboration with Bop? A soulful twist on the popular female vocal, drum and bass pair up. Fatima has worked with a range of artists before, over diverse genres. So I’m twitching at the thought of Fatima providing vocals for Russia’s alternative D’n’B producer.

If it did ever happen, the result of this collaboration would surely go great with: hammocks, beaches, 4/20, baths, Sunday mornings, airport transfers, the colour turquoise, and so much more.